Combined blast and suction sweeper



July 31, 1,923. 1,463.583

. C. P. HOLLERAN COMBINED BLAST AND SUCTION SWEEPER Filed July 26 1920 3 Sheets-Sheet l July 31, 1923. 1,463.583

c. P. HOLLERAN COMBINED BLAST AND SUCTION SWEEPER Filed July 26 1920 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q4 M-1W,MYM

July 31, 1923. 1,463,583 v I C. P. HOLLERAN COMBINED BLAST AND SUCTION SWEBPER Filed July 26 1920 3 Sheets-S heet 5 "IH III" as 1 I III I L I I Patented July 31, 19523.

new stars CHARLES I. HOLLERAN, O11 CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

COMBIhTED BLAST AND SUCTION SWEEPER.

Application filed July 26, 1920. Serial No. 399,071.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES P. HOLLER- AN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State 5 of Illinois, have invented newand useful Improvements in Combined Blast and Suction Sweepers, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to a combined blast and suction sweeper, and more specifically to a combined blast and suction sweeper for use in sweeping out underneath a row of desks such as are found in school rooms and the'like.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an improved combined blast and suction sweeper device, which can be moved along a row of desks and which will blow the dust out from under the row of desks and will suck it up on the other side.

A further object of my invention is to provide such a device which will be eficient in operation, and durable and simple in construction.

Further objects will appear from the detailed description to follow and from the appended claims.

In the drawings in which two embodiments of my invention are shown:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a combined blast and suction swee er showing in dotted line the outline of a esk, and showing the device in position with respect to the desk; Fig. 2 is an elevational view from the right of Fig. 1;

.Fig. 3 is a detail view showing the construction of the suction head and blower;

Fig. 4 is an axial sectional view of a hearing used inconnection with the blowers; Fi 5 is a detail view showing the sealing pad etween the suction head and the floor; Fig. 6 is a plan view of the sweeper; and Fig. '1 is a side elevation of another form of sweeper embodying my invention. f

to 6 o The construction shown in Figs. 1

the drawings comprises in a general way a movable carriage 10, mounted on casters 11, a suction blower 12 and a suction head 13 mounted on the carriage 10, and a blast blower 14 and blast head or pipe 15 also mounted on the carriage 10, both of the blowers 12 and 14 being driven from a suitable electric motor 16.

The blasthead or pipe 15 leads fr m the blower 14 over the top of the desk 17 as lndlcated at 18, to a pa1r of downwardly-extending branch pipes 19, terminating in.

curved inwardly-extending nozzles 20, which deliver converging blasts underneath the desks 17 to blow the dust and rubbish underneath the desks over into the suction head 13, which sucks in this dirt and rubbish and delivers it to a suitable dust receptacle.

The suction head 13 comprises a flaring hood or suction nozzle 21, open on the under side, and having considerable lateral and vertical extent, so that it will extend up high enough to catch and receive all of the dust and rubbish blown over toward it from the blast nozzles 20. A sealing strip 22 is provided at the lower edge of the hood 21 to provide a sealing engagement between the suction head and the floor, a section of this sealing strip being shown in Fig. 5. As

shown in Fig. 5, this sealing strip may comprise a strip of felt or cloth seated in a sheet metal channel member 23, the channel member being adjustably secured in vertical slots 24 of the suction head by means of small bolts 25.

The blowers 12 and 14 may be of any suitable type, and as shown are both mounted to be driven from the vertical shaft 26, to which is secured abelt pulley 27, which is driven from the motor 16 by means of the belt 28. The fan blades 29 of the blower 12 are secured to this shaft 26 and rotate in the blower casing 30 as shown in Figure 3. The suction head 13 is in communication with the interior of the blower casing 30 by means of a curved suction tube 31.. The dust and rubbish is sucked into the blower casing 30 through the suction head 13 and conduit 31, and is delivered into' a suitable dust receptacle 32 located underneath the motor 16.

If desired, the suction conduit 3f may be provided with a branch suction pipe 33, which provides a connection for any suitable vacuum cleaner, valves 34 and 35 being provided so that the suction head 13 may be out off and the entire exhaust efi'ect brought suction brought to bear upon the suction head 13.

Suitable anti-friction bearings may be rovided at 36 and 37 for the shaft26, the bearing 37 being shown in detail in. Fig. 4,

and comprising a set of ball bearings 38 to order to support the shaft in position with i of desks and down on the other side.

respect to the bearing ring 42', it is provided with a bearing collar 45 which is secured to the shaft by means of 'a transversely-extending pin 46.

A suitable cap 47 is screwed onto the casing 48 in which the bearing is enclosed, in order to keep dirt, etc., out of the bearing.

A hold-down screw 49 is provided to position the shaft 26 and prevent it from rising, the lower end of this screw 49 extending into a depression in'the upper end of the shaft. A similar bearing is lower end of the shaft.

A suitable brace or tension membe rl 50 may be provided for supporting the blast pipe 15. In operation, the sweeper is moved into position to straddle the row of desks, that is, with the carriage 10 on one side and the blast pipe 15 extending over across the l'piyv e motor 16 is then put intooperation to cause the blowers 12 and 14 to operate to. deliver a blast of air through the nozzles 20, and to suck in the dirt and rubbish which is driven out from under the row of desks through the suction head 13 and to cause the dirt and rubbish thus sucked in to be deliverd into the dust receptacle 32. As the blowers are operated, the carriage lO is propelled along the row of desks, so that the entire space underneath the row of desks is quickly and thoroughly swept or cleaned.

It is obvious that this device is adapted for cleaning an open space, that is, a space which is not obstructed by a row of desks, as well as for cleaning .an'obstructed space.

The construction shown in Fig. 7 operates in a similar'manner, but in this construction tube 59, and the blower 54 may be provided with one or more downwardly-extending blast pipes leading to blast nozzles 61 which deliver blasts of air underneath the row of desks, and drive the dust, dirt, etc.

over toward the suction head 58. The opdescribed,

provided at 36 for the sweeping compound fixture 63 is placed, a

discharge conduit, 64 leading from the receptacle fixture 62 into the blast pipe 15,

and a pressure equalizing conduit 65 commu- 1 nicating with the blast pipe 15 and with the receptacle 62 above the upper surface of the sweeping compound in the receptacle. A suitable cover 66 may be provided for the receptacle 62 and a suitable controlling valve 67 may be provided for controlling the discharge of the sweeping compound through the discharge nozzle 64.

The operation of the means for supplying the sweeping compound is as follows The sweeping compound is placed in an air-tight receptacle 62, falls down-by gravity into the discharge conduit 64, the in ector action of the blast pipe 15 also aiding in causing the discharge of the sweeping compound, and the pressure equalizing conduit 65 equalizing the pressure above and below the sweeping compound. The sweeping compound is delivered from the blast nozzle 20 and strikes the floor underneath the desks and ing up the space underneath.

W hat I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A pneumatic sweeper for sweeping the space underneath an article, of furniture, comprising a suction head, a blast nozzle spaced a substantial distance from said suction head, suflicient to receive the article of furniture between them, said blast nozzle being directed toward said suction head, whereby the-dirt underneath said article of furniture may be blown toward said suction head by said blast nozzle and sucked up b said suction head.

2. pneumatic sweeper for cleanin underneath a row of furniture, comprising a carriage, a suction head, and a blast nozzle,

said suction head and blast nozzle being supported by said carriage and mounted so that they will be on opposite sides of the row of furniture, said blast nozzle being directed toward said suction head, the direction of said blast being substantially transverse to the line of travel of said carriage, whereby as said carriage is moved along said row offurniture, the dirt underneath said row will be blown by said blast nozzle over into said suction head, and sucked up by said suction head. i

3. A pneumatic sweeper for sweeping underneath a row of furniture, comprising a carriage, a suction head, a blast nozzle, a suction blower, a blast blower, and a vertical shaft for driving both of said blowers, said suction head and blast nozzle being spaced so that one can be on one side of a row of furniture, and the other on the other side of the row of furniture, said blast nozzle being directed toward said suction head,-

a substantial distance from said suction be secured to said branch connection and the.

valves operated so as to'use' the vacuum cleaner if desired or the suction head if desired, or both vacuum cleaner and suction head at the same time. y

5. A pneumatic sweeper comprising a suction head, a blast nozzle spaced a substantial, distance from said suction head directed so as to deliver the blast toward said suction head, means" for forcing air through said blast nozzle, and means for supplying a granular sweeping material to the space between said blast nozzle and suction head, whereby the'dirt and rubbish between the blast nozzle and the suction head as well as the granular sweeping material will be blown toward said suction head and sucked up by said suction head.

6. A sweeping device comprising, a suction head, a blast nozzle and means for supplying a sweeping compound to the blast nozzle, said means comprising a receptacle for the sweeping compound,- having a conduit in communication with the blast nozzle, and an equalizing conduit in communication with the blast nozzle leading to the receptacle above the surface of the sweeping compound.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name.

, CHARLES P. HOLLERAN. 

